The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the mental health of people around the world. However, its impact on first-episode psychosis (FEP) remains unclear. The aim of this study was to determine the incidence rate (IR) and the clinical and sociodemographic characteristics of patients who developed FEP during the nine-month period following the COVID-19 outbreak in Spain and to compare these data to the corresponding period in the previous year. We included all patients (n = 220) treated for the first time during these two time periods at three FEP programs in Spain. The IR was 0.42/100,000 person-years during the pandemic vs. 0.54/100,000 in the prior year (p = 0.057). Compared to prior year, women accounted for a significantly higher proportion of FEP patients (46.3% vs. 28%; p = 0.005) during the COVID-19 period. This association was significant on the logistic regression analysis (odds ratio, female: 2.12 [confidence interval 1.17–3.82]; p = 0.014). These data reveal a non-significant trend towards a lower incidence of FEP during the pandemic period. Female sex was associated with a greater risk of developing FEP during the pandemic period, perhaps due to differences between males and females in the susceptibility and expression of psychosis. The findings of this study contribute to a better understanding of stress-related disorders.
Background: Women with schizophrenia or other psychotic disorders differ from male patients in many respects, including psychopathology, prognosis, disease course, and substance use comorbidities. Most studies performed to date to investigate the association between drug use and psychosis have not evaluated gender differences, although this has started to change in recent years. Methods: We briefly summarize the available evidence on gender differences in drug use and substance use disorders (SUD) in psychotic patients during the early phases of the psychotic illness and during the course of schizophrenia. Results: Substance use and SUD are both less prevalent in women, both in the general population and at all phases of the psychotic spectrum. Some studies suggest that SUD may be underdiagnosed in female patients, in part due to their more vulnerable profile. Substance use, especially cannabis, may more negatively impact females, especially on the disease course and prognosis. The available data suggest that it may be more difficult to treat SUD in female patients with schizophrenia, which could negatively impact prognosis. Conclusion: Women with concomitant psychotic illness and SUD comprise a highly vulnerable subgroup. This should be considered when selecting the treatment approach, especially in the early phases of the illness, to ensure better outcomes.
IntroductionMeta-analytic evidence suggests that migrants have higher risk for psychotic disorders. Likewise, growing evidence relate developmental trauma (emotional, sexual, physical abuse and neglect in childhood or adolescence) as a causal factor for psychotic symptoms. However, few studies examine developmental trauma in migrant populations.ObjectivesThe aim of this study is to describe and compare developmental trauma exposure prevalence between immigrant and non-immigrant psychotic patients in Barcelona.MethodsPatients who have presented, according DSM-V criteria, one or more non-affective psychotic episodes, were recruited in Acute and Chronic inpatients units at Hospital del Mar (Barcelona), leading to a total sample of 77 patients. Demographic characteristics of patients, clinical data and main pharmacological treatment were recorded through a questionnaire. Developmental trauma exposure was assessed by Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ). Comparative analysis was performed with IBM SPSS using Chi-Square Test and t-Student test.ResultsFrom a total of 77 patients, 43 were immigrants and 34 were non-immigrants. Exposure to traumatic events showed significant differences between immigrants and non-immigrant in Child emotional abuse (64,4% immigrants, 35,3% non-immigrant), Child physical abuse (51,2% immigrants, 14,7% non-immigrant), Child Sexual Abuse (41,9% immigrants, 11,8% non-immigrant) and physical neglect (62,8% immigrants, 26,5% non-immigrant). Emotional neglect exposure was no significant between both groups. Total mean CTQ score was 37,53 in immigrants group and 52,60 in non-immigrant group.ConclusionsAccording to our results, there are important and significant differences in developmental trauma exposure between immigrant and non-immigrant psychotic patients. These results should be considered by clinicians in order to design assessment program for this population.DisclosureNo significant relationships.
Introduction COVID19 has brought several psychosocial stressors that are having an impact on global mental health. The impact of the pandemic on the incidence of First Episode of Psychosis (FEP) is not clear. Objectives To describe the clinical and sociodemographic characteristics of FEP patients diagnosed since the onset of the COVID19 pandemic and compare them with the equivalent period of the previous year. Methods We included all FEP patients attended at Parc de Salut Mar (Barcelona, Spain) from March 14, 2020 (when the state of emergency in Spain began) to December 31, 2020 with the same period of 2019. We assessed sociodemographic variables, duration of untreated psychosis (DUP), cannabis and alcohol use, psychiatric diagnosis, and psychiatric symptom scales. We performed a univariate analysis between the groups using U-Mann Whitney for continuous variables and Chi-Square for qualitative variables. Results A total of 20 FEP patients were diagnosed in each period. No differences were found in sociodemographic variables, scales scores or DUP. During COVID19 period there was a smaller proportion of cannabis users (60% vs 90%; p=0.028) and a tendency of lower weekly consumption (14.44 vs 16.42; p=0.096). There were more cases of BPD (25% vs 5%; p=0.077) and less of affective psychosis (0% vs 25%; 0.017). Conclusions During the COVID-19 pandemic we did not find an increase of FEP or more severe clinical presentations. However, we identified differences in the type of FEP that could be related to the psychosocial stressors of this time. Disclosure No significant relationships.
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